homemade moose tracks ice cream

So I’m not really sure why I haven’t been taking advantage of this pregnancy as much as I should regarding food. I’ve mentioned before that I actually had a lot of trouble gaining weight earlier on, and while the reasons for that were absolutely no fun, I suppose now, at 34 weeks pregnant, it is a nice problem to have had. I went back for seconds with dessert the other night and didn’t feel bad at all. Not to say that I’m not still watching things to make sure that it doesn’t get out of hand. But it’s nice to be able to indulge without worry for now.

Which leads us to ice cream, and how I can’t believe that I haven’t been making it more this summer. I keep my ice cream maker base in the freezer so that it is ready to go at all times, and yet I’m pretty sure I’ve only pulled it out once this summer, which is really a sad sad state of things. And while there may not be a lot of summer left, especially when a baby might come and interrupt it at any time here in a few weeks, I’m going to try my best to resolve this oversight.

I’ve been wanting to make homemade moose tracks ice cream for years now, and I think I finally cracked the code so that you get the right ice cream to peanut butter cup to fudge ripples ratios. The first problem I had was that my ice cream became too muddy when I added the fudge in, so that I basically ended up with chocolate ice cream with peanut butter cups (not that that’s a bad thing). I think the trick though is to take some of the ice cream out of the ice cream maker, then add some fudge in so that about one third of your ice cream gets mixed with it pretty decently, and then layer it all together in a container with ripples of fudge. It’s not as complicated as it sounds, I promise. Especially because both the ice cream base and the fudge take a grand total of about 20 minutes to make. Which is another reason I can’t believe I haven’t pulled my ice cream maker out more this summer. One of my favorite ice creams, chocolate peanut butter ice cream, is just about the simplest thing to make in the kitchen. And with this recipe not too far behind it as far as ease goes, I really have no excuse.

The best part about this ice cream is all of the parts are so simple to put together. Make the fudge sauce and the base in about 20 minutes total and then stick them in the fridge until you are ready to churn the ice cream. And even though the layering of the ice cream might seem a bit intimidating, you don't have to worry about being perfect (mine certainly wasn't) because it will still taste the same, which is to say perfectly sweet and delicious. You probably won't need all of the fudge sauce, but save the rest to top your store bought ice cream once you run out of this.

Ingredients

For the fudge sauce

3/4 cup half and half

1/3 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/3 cup semisweet (or bittersweet) chocolate chips

Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the ice cream

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

3/4 cup granulated sugar

Kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

To finish

1 cup miniature peanut butter cups

Instructions

Begin by making the fudge sauce. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the half and half and brown sugar. Heat until warm, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved.

Add the butter, chocolate chips, and a pinch of salt and heat until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Then remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Allow to cool, and then cover and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

To make the ice cream base, in a medium-sized sauce pan combine 1 cup heavy cream, the sugar, and a pinch of salt. Heat until warm and the sugar is dissolved.

Remove from heat and stir in the other cup of cream, the milk, and the vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until completely cool, about 30 minutes.

When you are ready to churn the ice cream, add the ice cream base to your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions (mine takes about 20 minutes).

When the ice cream is done, add the peanut butter cups and let those churn in (it takes about 30 seconds). Then use a large spoon to remove about 2/3 of the ice cream to a separate bowl.

With what is left in the ice cream maker, pour in about 1/4 cup of the fudge sauce. Let churn for just a minute, until the fudge begins to distribute and some of the ice cream starts to look a bit chocolate-y.

Layer the two different batches of ice cream, along with drizzles of the fudge sauce, in a container. Freeze for at least 1 hour, or until ready to serve.